Drizzt Do'Urden movie?

[Manowar]

I just found out that Hasbro owns the Forgotten Realms series and so they own rights to the Dark Elf character Drizz't Do'Urden. With Disney currently looking at buying Hasbro like they did Lucasfilms, I wonder if it's really a move to buy the rights for Drizzt for a possible future Movie?!?!

 

[Baramos]

Well the Dungeons & Dragons movie went down like a stone in the sea, so I dunno. The lore is definitely there but whether they can adapt that properly is the question--executive and directorial meddling is the bane of many adaptations.

 

[Victarion]

Funny thing how the studio that gave us LOTR also gave us the Dungeons and Dragons movie. I wouldn't do a Drizzt movie, actually. I'd do Servant of the Shard and remove some of the excess fight scenes for backstory on Entreri and Jarlaxle.

 

[Baramos]

Ugh, Jarlaxle.

 

[Rowsdower!]

I made a thread about this years ago back when Drizzt and his related characters started to gain some greater exposure with the comic books and video games. I had high hopes we'd see some of the stories turned into movies, but I'm doubtful that it will ever happen. I think a TV series might be a possibility though. With all the success HBO has had with Game of Thrones, there might be a chance another network would be willing to roll the dice on a Drizzt series to cash in on some of that success.

I personally would like to see them do it chronologically, beginning with the Dark Elf trilogy. I know that part of the story might not be as accessible to some readers as the Icewind Dale series (since human characters don't enter the story until the last part) but the stories are so much more interesting and not so Tolkien-derivative.

 

[Victarion]

Tolkien derivative as the plot is in Ice Wind Dale Trilogy, there's some nice visuals to be had. The Dale itself, Bruenor riding Shimmergloom, and Bruenor's flaming chariot.

 

[Rowsdower!]

That's true. Perhaps they could tweak it a bit so it doesn't feel so Tolkien-esque. And Dear God, remove the Harpells entirely.

 

[johnrain]

Who would play the dark elf?

 

[Victarion]

That's true. Perhaps they could tweak it a bit so it doesn't feel so Tolkien-esque. And Dear God, remove the Harpells entirely.

Indeed; they need to make Luskan seem a bit seedier than it did in Stream of Silver.

I think the plotline of The Icewind Dale trilogy could be tightened up by including tidbits from the Dark Elf trilogy and Artemis Entreri's past. I was never really excited about Entreri as a character until I read the Sellswords Trilogy. Drizzt's flashbacks could begin as he is tutoring Wulfgar.

The key to Entreri's character is his horrid childhood, which instilled in him a disdain for people widley labeled "heroes." Flashbacks to that as Entreri learns about the Companions of the Hall in Streams of Silver and The Halfling's Gem could be used to give Entreri a primary goal of testing the Companions' status as heroes; he wants to break them to find validation for his chosen profession as an assassin.

Drizzt should see Entreri's victims and be reminded of the things he saw in Menzoberranzan during his tutelage in Homeland. He should hear about Entreri from the towns they pass through and be reminded of his ascension from the Underdark (similar to Entreri's ascension from being sexually abused by that guy his deathly ill mother gave him to).

Here are some of my other thoughts on fleshing out the characters:

The Crystal Shard film:

Open the movie in Calimport, where we see Regis stealing the gem. We could get some hints at Entreri's pursuit as well. Then cut to Drizzt meeting Regis for the first time. Next we'd go to Luskan to meet Akar Kessel and see a bit of his relationship with Mordecai, and perhaps establish an inferiority complex. I'd make have him attempting to call forth Errtu, so that once he returns to Faerun, his alliance with Akar doesn't seem so coincidental.

I would also include a bit about Cattie-brie's past, exploring her feelings about the goblin raid that took her parents from her, and her fear and hatred of the goblins.

Streams of Silver film:

Opens in Icewind Dale on Artemis Entreri. Taking a bit of Road of the Patriarch, we'd get a hint of his past with the clergy of Selune. That would feed his disgust at seemingly perfect "do-gooders" like Drizzt and company. This would be interspersed throughout the movie.

I would hint at the Duergar being an advanced force sent by Matron Baenre.

Before a certain scene, we'd see Bruenor say something like, "gimme that scimitar, elf!" After Shimmergloom went down and the duergar started flooding in, we'd see panic take hold of the companions and send them fleeing for their lives.

The Halfling's Gem

In Calimport, I'd have some open warfare between the thieves' guilds. This would lead to flashbacks of the "lesson" Drizzt witnessed in Homeland, where those demons were summoned against a drow house that "got caught." I'd have Drizzt envision Pook's Guild as a Matron House that he could get revenge on. Entreri would realize this during their confrontation and call him on his hypocrisy.

I hope you get to read all of it! As I was reading The Crystal Shard for the first time, back in 09, it struck me as having pretty good pacing. Better than the Dark Elf books, truthfully.

 

[Rowsdower!]

Those are actually some really great ideas. I think Halfling's Gem would need very little changes, actually... that one I've always felt was the strongest of the three books. But the tweaks you made to the others could add and fix a lot.

As for who could play the characters... I'm not sure. Drizzt is especially tough to cast because you need someone who looks relatively youthful, yet can convey a sense of wisdom that experience that only comes with age.